DFA Goes Forward on Climate Change Rally

This Sunday over 35,000 gathered in DC for the Forward on Climate Change Rally to call on the President to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline.

As crowds chanted: Shift the Power! They hoped to spark a national dialogue about the proposed pipeline that would run from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The line would carry tar sand and soil—leaving a large greenhouse gas footprint in it’s wake.

Many are heartened that President will respond to climate change and at last, America will take action against ongoing enviornmental crisis. In his inaugural address this January President Obama notably said, “We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to threat of climate change knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”

The political pathway for better environmental legislation continues to difficult. The GOP’s Tea Party still features prominent ‘global warming deniers.’ In fact, in Kansas last week the House education committee introduced a bill that mandates teachers question the scientific basis of global warming—and Kansas is not the only state! Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma all have similar policies already in place.

Yet support comes from unlikely sources, retired Army Col. Dan Nolan represents Operation Free, he says there are clear national security benefits to getting more oil from Canada. "We're putting America's sons and daughters at risk by having to protect oil production capability in the Middle East." The real challenge he says is to shift the world off oil and other fossil fuels. After recent disasters like Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina, we need to take serious steps to do something really soon. If we don't, we're all going to be in a state where we don't recognize the planet where we live.

Follow DFA on Facebook , Twitter, and Tumblr as we continue to support legislation and candidates who address climate change head on. To repeat this Sunday’s chant: Shift the Power!